Teacher Resource Guide:
Before the Show
About the Performance
About the Artist
About the Directorial Consultant
Coming to the Theater
Pre-Show Activities
The lessons and activities in this guide are driven by the
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts &
Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical
Subjects (2010) which help ensure that all students are
college and career ready in literacy no later than the end
of high school. The College and Career Readiness (CCR)
Standards in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening,
and Language define general, cross-disciplinary literacy
expectations that must be met for students to be prepared
to enter college and workforce training programs ready to
succeed.
21st century skills of creativity, critical thinking and
collaboration are embedded in process of bringing the page
to the stage. Seeing live theater encourages students to
read, develop critical and creative thinking and to be curious
about the world around them.
This Teacher Resource Guide includes background
information, questions, and activities that can stand alone
or work as building blocks toward the creation of a complete
unit of classroom work.
Huffington Post Review
Compare and Contrast
Respond in Writing
The Civil Rights Movement
Peace and Brotherhood
Into the Words – Theater Vocabulary
Post-Show Activities
Rhapsody in Black Content Vocabulary
Comfortable vs. Challenging Conversations
I, Too, Sing America
Huffington Post RE-View
Perspective in Poetry
Cloze & Context Clues
Dive Deeper
Recommended Download
Works Cited
This guide contains pre-show/post-show classroom
activities that include specific student learning targets
to use in their existing curriculum. The classroom
activities are purposefully open ended and educators/
youth service professionals are encouraged to make
appropriate adaptations to specific learning targets
in order to meet the individualized needs of their
students.
The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this organization with state tax dollars to encourage economic
growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.
Playhouse Square is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public
grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.
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ABOUT THE
PERFORMANCE
Written and performed by LeLand Gantt and developed
at NYC’s Actors Studio by Academy Award Winner
Estelle Parsons, Rhapsody in Black is a one man show
that explores LeLand’s personal journey to understand
and eventually transcend racism in America.
The play follows his spellbinding life story – from an
underprivileged childhood in the ghettos of McKeesport,
Pennsylvania to teenage experiments with crime to
scholastic achievement and an acting career that lands
adult LeLand in situations where he is virtually the only
African American in the room.
In his own words: “Objective truth strikes a chord.”
How he manages to cope with the various psychological
effects of consistently being marked “The Other” is
recounted in remarkable and exquisitely moving detail,
guaranteed to leave lasting impressions.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
LeLand
Gantt first
unveiled Rhapsody in
Black at the Workshop
Theater
Company’s
Sundays@Six reading
series in March 2013.
Further
development
at The Actors Studio
yielded a slot in their
Playwrights/Directors Unit’s spring festival in May 2013
and, subsequently, a three-week workshop run last fall.
Regional credits include: Two Trains Running and
Radio Golf (Syracuse Stage); Walter Mosley’s The
Fall of Heaven, world premier (Cincinnati Playhouse
in the Park); Gem of the Ocean (Arena Stage), Jitney
(Pittsburgh Public Theater), and In Walks Ed (Longwharf
Theater).
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Off-Broadway/Broadway: Slippery When Wet (La Mama),
Another Man’s Poison (Peter Jay Sharpe Theater),
OyamO’s Killa Dilla and Let Me Live (Drama Desk and
Audelco Award nominee for Featured Actor), and the
revival of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (u/s Rock Dutton).
Film and television credits include: Miracle at St. Anna,
Requiem for a Dream, Malcolm X, Presumed Innocent,
Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, J.A.G., and HBO’s
The Affair.
ABOUT THE DIRECTORIAL
CONSULTANT
Estelle Parsons won
an Academy Award for
Best Supporting Actress
in 1967 for her role as
Blanche Barrow in Bonnie
and Clyde. Among her
most noted television
roles,
she
played
Roseanne’s mother on
the award-winning sitcom Roseanne. She played the
title role in Miss Margarita’s Way on Broadway and the
National tour, and Violet Weston in August: Osage County
on Broadway and the national tour.
Ms. Parsons’ directing credits include: a multi-cultural
Anthony and Cleopatra described as “the most exciting
and innovative presentation in English since Peter Brook’s
A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Belasco Theater;
Flaubert’s Madame Bovary adapted by Adrienne Kennedy
at the Signature Theater, NYC; Oedipus the King (Yeats
adaptation) and Salome: The Reading (Oscar Wilde) with
Al Pacino on Broadway and the National tour. Nominated
four times for the Tony Award, Ms. Parsons was inducted
into the American Theater Hall Of Fame in 2004.
Coming to the Theater
Playhouse Square is an exciting field trip destination! As
the country’s largest performing arts center outside of New
York, the not-for-profit Playhouse Square attracts more
than one million guests to 1,000+ performances and events
each year. Playhouse Square thus acts as a catalyst for
economic growth and vitality within the region. When you
visit, be sure to note the GE Chandelier, the world’s largest
outdoor chandelier, and the retro Playhouse Square sign
with its 9-foot-tall letters!
As audience members, you and your students play a vital
role in the success of the performances. You are part of a
community that creates the theater experience. For many
students, this may be their first time viewing a live theater
production. We encourage teachers to discuss some of the
differences between coming to the theater and watching
a television show, attending a sporting event or viewing
a movie at the cinema. Here are a few points to start the
discussion:
S
tudents are led into the theater and seated by an usher.
T
heaters are built to magnify sound. Even the slightest
whisper can be heard throughout the theater. Remember
that not only can those around you hear you; the
performers can too.
A
ppropriate responses such as laughing or applauding
are appreciated. Pay attention to the artists on stage; they
will let you know what is appropriate.
There
is no food, drink or gum permitted in the theater.
P
hotography and videotaping of performances is not
permitted.
W
hen the houselights dim, the performance is about to
begin. Please turn your attention toward the stage.
A
fter the performance, you will be dismissed by bus
number. Check around your seat to make sure you have
all of your personal belongings.
r field
An exciting destination fo
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trips and more!
ities
Pre-Show Activ
Respond in Writing
Student Learning Objective:
I can create and develop a Rhapsody in Black Response
Journal.
CCLS: W6-12.3
The Civil Rights Movement
Required Resource – Martin Luther King, Jr. Video (4
minutes, 3 seconds)
http://www.brainpop.com/search/search.weml?
keyword=civil+rights+movement
Student Learning Objective:
I can activate my prior knowledge about the Civil Rights
Movement and its purpose.
CCLS: RI6-12.2
Huffington Post Review
Required Resource
RHAPSODY IN BLACK HUFFINGTON POST REVIEW
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jaime-lubin/rhapsody-inblack_b_4209595.html
Student Learning Objective:
I can be engaged and actively participate in a close read
of the Rhapsody in Black review in the Huffington Post
Arts & Culture article.
CCLS: RL 6-12.6
Compare and Contrast
Required Resource
RHAPSODY IN BLACK VIDEO TRAILER PREVIEW
Excerpt Sample 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v
DzhpDtwrGk&feature=youtu.be
Student Learning Objective:
I can compare and contrast the video version to the
written transcript.
CCLS: RL6-12.7
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Peace and Brotherhood
Required Resource
“LETTERS FROM A BIRMINGHAM JAIL” BY MARTIN
LUTHER KING, JR. (Common Core Recommended
Text for Grade 7)
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/
letter-from-birmingham-city-jail-excerpts/
Student Learning Objective:
I can examine Dr. King’s concepts of peace and
brotherhood.
CCLS: RI6-12.6, RI6-12.8, RI6-12.10
INTO THE WORDS
THEATER VOCABULARY
Create a ‘Performance Vocabulary Booklet’
Student Learning Objective:
I can define, construct contextual sentences, and
illustrate performance vocabulary.
CCLS: L6-12.4
Suggested Theater Vocabulary
Blocking – the instructions that actors use to know exactly
where they are supposed to be on stage at all times
Cast – the people who perform in a show
Company – the cast and crew of a show and any other
staff who work on the show
Downstage – the part of the stage which is closest to the
audience
Dialogue – the words which are spoken in a play
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Director – the person who provides the vision of how a
show should be presented, who works with the actors on
their roles, develops the blocking, and is in charge of the
rehearsals
Monologue – a speech given by one actor
Set – the setting of the stage for each act and all the
physical things that are used to change the stage for the
performance
Stage Left – (these left/right directions are seen from
the ACTOR’S point of view on the stage) this is when the
actor standing in the center of the stage moves to his left
(This even stumps some pros so it is best to learn it now)
Stage Right – this is when the actor standing in the
center of the stage moves to his right
Upstage – (1) the area of the stage that is the farthest
away from the audience (2) when one actor moves to the
back of the stage and causes another actor to turn away
from the audience...This is called “Upstaging” when an
actor draws attention to himself and away from the main
action of a play
Post-Show Activ
ities
RHAPSODY IN BLACK
CONTENT VOCABULARY
Student Learning Objective:
I can create a word study guide to help me understand
the show’s dialogue, thoughts and themes.
CCLS: L6-12.4, L6-12.6
The following word list is a compilation of academic
vocabulary that is explored throughout the performance
through dialogue, thoughts or themes. Please be
encouraged to add and/or delete items at your discretion.
adversary bigotry conversation discrimination
diversity hypocrisy racism rhapsody
resonance prejudice racial identity
transcending adamantine rapier minotaur
ubiquitous subterranean largess indoctrinate
fraudulent vitriol amalgamation aberrations
Comfortable vs. Challenging
Conversations
Student Learning Objective:
I can participate in provocative conversations based
upon both facts and feelings.
CCLS: SL6-12.1, SL6-12.4
1. What are some ways we can make ourselves and
our classmates feel comfortable when we are talking
about challenging or confusing topics?
2. Have you experienced prejudice (in regards to any
nationality, sex, religion, sexual orientation)?
3. Have you been prejudiced?
4. Do you think our country has made acceptable
progress in race relations since the Civil Rights
Movement?
5. Based on what you know, how would you explain
the fact that racism is still prevalent in many parts of
American society today?
“As a duo, Leland and Estelle craft a gorgeous magic; she emphasizes physicality in her
direction and he exercises enviable mastery over his body.” –Jaime Lubin, Huffpost Arts & Culture
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I, Too, Sing America
Required Resource
“I, TOO, SING AMERICA”
by Langston Hughes, 1902-1967
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.
Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed –
I, too, am America.
Student Learning Objectives:
I can read and interpret the poem “I, Too, Sing America.”
I can participate in provocative conversations based
upon both facts and feelings.
CCLS: RL 6-12.1, SL6-12.1, SL6-12.4
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Patriotism is a pretty complicated concept. It can mean
standing up for your country or criticizing it. If you
want to sum up patriotism, you can simply call it “love
for one’s country.” But how does one love a country?
Unconditionally?
“I, Too, Sing America” is, in fact, a patriotic poem, but
in some very unexpected ways.
Freedom and equality. Now those are two concepts that
we can get behind, right? Those are two concepts that
good citizens of the United States should champion,
right? Right. So in very few words, and with some startling
imagery, Hughes is really teaching us how to assert
ourselves, and how to be true Americans – Americans
who aren’t afraid to try and improve their country, and
who aren’t afraid to claim its citizenship, no matter what.
Huffington Post RE-View
Required Resource
RHAPSODY IN BLACK HUFFINGTON POST REVIEW
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jaime-lubin/rhapsody-inblack_b_4209595.html
Student Learning Objectives:
I can reread the Rhapsody in Black review in the
Huffington Post Arts & Culture article and formulate an
opinion on the statements made in the review. http://
www.huffingtonpost.com/jaime-lubin/rhapsody-inblack_b_4209595.html
I can write my own “official” review of the Rhapsody in
Black performance.
I can present my review to my peers (and even mail a
copy to Mr. LeLand Gantt).
Email all copies to [email protected]
CCLS: RI 6-12.6, W6-12.1, SL6-12.3, SL6-12.4
Perspective in Poetry
Required Resource
“YOU DON’T KNOW, OR DO YOU?”
by Shari M., East Chapel Hill High School
You don’t know, or do you?
Who are you to tell me who I am?
Who are you to tell me who I will be?
Although you think you do, you don’t know jack
about me.
You don’t know the pain, the hate, or the sorrow
inside.
You don’t know how it feels to have to compete
and to constantly have to prove yourself.
You don’t know how it feels to battle the
stereotypes and the prejudice.
You don’t know, or do you?
Who are you to tell me how to act?
And who are you to tell me how to dress?
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How dare you deny me the right to be me?
It is killing me softly, can’t you see?
You want me to assimilate, yet you still want to
put me on a leash.
You smile in my face and yet you stab me in my
back.
You only want me to be a reflection of you and
not me, Shari.
You don’t know, or do you?
Who are you to judge me?
And who gave you the right?
If you can’t accept me, my brain, my love, my
hate, my heart, my soul,
my ghetto-fabulousness and all the rest.
Then your best bet is just to step.
Because before you can judge me, tell me who
I am, who I’m gonna be, how to act and dress,
You’d better take the time to look at yourself.
Do you know what I’ve been through?
You haven’t experienced what I have.
You haven’t been judged based solely on your
looks.
You haven’t been discriminated against.
You haven’t walked into an honors class and
gotten the dirty looks.
Ignorance, pride, strength, have you experienced
them?
You don’t know, or do you?
Student Learning Objectives:
I can read and interpret the perspective of the author in
the poem “You Don’t Know, Or Do You?” by Shari M.,
East Chapel Hill School
I can create my own poem based on my interpretation/
reaction to the performance.
I can present my poem orally to the class/group.
CCLS: W6-12.3, W6-12.4, SL6-12.3, SL6-12.4
Cloze & Context Clues
Cloze refers to the “reading closure” practice required
when readers must fill blanks left in text, using whatever
knowledge and experience they have (Teach On by
David Hornsby).
The teacher uses the cloze procedure to model a variety
of problem-solving reading strategies.
In a cloze activity words or letters are omitted from text
in ways that require the readers to use specific reading
strategies, or to focus upon specific cues in the text. The
teacher guides students through the text, helping them
to focus on one of the following:
phonics/visual cues
sight and/or speaking vocabulary
predication skills
cross-check cues
Lessons using the cloze procedure can also expand
student’s use of language structure cues, meaning cues,
and background knowledge to predict unknown words.
Student Learning Objectives:
I can utilize my preshow vocabulary definitions to create
a cloze summary of the performance.
I can create Civil Rights Movement context clue
sentences with performance vocabulary.
CCLS: L6-12.4/L6-12.6/W6-12.2
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Dive Deeper
Student Learning Targets:
I can participate in individual and group discussions
about the performance themes and vocabulary.
CCLS: RL 6-12.5/SL6-12.3/SL6-12.4
1. Examine how the author/actor confronts his own
hypocrisy when including the observation that
“objective truth strikes a chord.”
2. Can we rise above our prejudices with honest
conversation?
* Recommended Download: Building Community
and Combating Hate: Lessons for the Middle School
Classroom (PDF) for Additional Activities & Lesson
Plans
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https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/Abstract.
aspx?id=261788
Works Cited
www.bardavon.org
www.broadwayworld.com
www.clemson.edu
www.corestandards.org
www.engageny.org/resource/text-list
www.musical-theater-kids.com/kids-theater-dictionary.
html
www.partnersagainsthate.org/educators
www.shmoop.com/i-too-sing-america/
www.tolerance.org
Critical Response Questions
Students develop their comprehension when they reflect
upon what they wondered about, noticed and felt.
Ignite a classroom discussion with the following critical
response questions:
1. Define racism. How was it shown in the play?
2. Is there a lot of racism in your home town?
3. Name one way to stop racism.
4. Have you ever been hurt by racism? How?
5. Do you think that racism will ever go away?
6. What do you do when you see racism?
7. Are there punishments for racism in the United States?
8. Name three feelings that come up when you hear the
word racism.
9. Do you think that someone has ever NOT experienced
racism?
10. Have you ever stopped racism?
11. You are in a restaurant and the owner throws someone
out for being white. What do you do?
12. You are in a restaurant and the owner throws someone
out for being black. What do you do?
13. Which country has the most racism? Why?
14. How should people punish racists? Why?
15. Which is worse: racism or sexism? Why?
16. Which is worse: racism or homophobia? Why?
17. Why would anyone want to be a racist?
18. How do you explain racism to a child?
19. Do you think global racism is getting better or worse?
20. What kind of place would the world be if there was
no racism?
Critical
Thinking
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RESOURCES
Web Resources
Book Resources
http://www.agoodblackman.com/portal2.htm
A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and
Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Martin Luther
King (Author), James M. Washington (Editor). Harper
One Publisher, Reprint Edition, 2003.
http://besthistorysites.net/general-history-resources/
http://www.blackpast.org
http://www.educationworld.com/a_special/black_history.
shtml
http://teacher.scholastic.com/africanamericanheritage
http://librarycompany.org/paah
The Hundred Best Websites for African Americans:
http://www.dcwatch.com/iilist/100best.htm
YouTube Links:
Malcom X – The Ballot or the Bullet?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9BVEnEsn6Y
Malcom X – On Police Brutality
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUYNgZu7si8
Malcom X – Who Taught You To Hate Yourself?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRSgUTWffMQ
Martin Luther King – I Have a Dream Speech
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I47Y6VHc3Ms
Martin Luther King – The Three Evils of Society
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8d-IYSM-08
The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley
by Malcolm X (Author), Alex Haley (Author), Attallah
Shabazz (Author). Ballantine Books; Reissue edition
(November 1992)
The Big Sea: An Autobiography (American Century
Series by Langston Hughes (Author) Arnold Rampersad
(Introduction). Hill and Wang Publisher; 2nd edition
(August 1, 1993)
The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes by Langstson
Hughes (Author), Arnold Rampersad (Editor). Vintage
Publisher; 1st Vintage classics ed edition (October 31,
1995).
Conversations with Myself by Nelson Mandela (Author),
Barack Obama (Foreword). Picador Publisher; Reprint
edition (September 27, 2011).
Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson
Mandela by Nelson Mandela Back Bay Books; 1st
Paperback Ed edition (October 1, 1995).
Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes by David
Roessel (Editor) Sterling Children’s Books; Reprint edition
(January 1, 2013).
Strength to Love by Martin Luther King, Jr. Fortress
Press; Gift edition (January 10, 2010).
Rhapsody in Black Study Guide created by Heidi M. Murphy; adapted by the Community Engagement & Education
Department at Playhouse Square, and Tina D. Stump, Master of Arts in Education
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